Daring to trust God’s Sovereignty

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Gone must be any discouragement that would cause us to forget God’s sovereignty over human affairs.

Instead, can we grasp the fact that other people simply cannot thwart God’s plan for our lives?
If He has called us to something, not only will He equip us, we can be sure that He will also provide the entry point needed for us to carry it out. If we are following His calling and lead, we need to learn to hear His quiet, “not now” within mere man’s louder, “No!”.

One of the things that must have spurred Joseph on while unfairly imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, was the vision God had granted him many years earlier, that remained yet unfulfilled.

While he grew in his trust of a faithful God, who made sure that the normal punishment (death) for Joseph’s “crime” (of which he was innocent and therefore unfairly imprisoned) was not enacted, he must also have grown in his certainty that God would provide the way out, in His own flawless timing. And the way OUT of prison, was the way IN to a position of prominence – just as God had foretold… because God is the Master orchestrator.

We too, though not relying on visions or prophetic utterances, can have the same certainty, and trust that God, who is eternally faithful, omnipotent and sovereign, will also work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to HIS purpose. (Romans 8:28)

2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us that, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” The question then is: is my heart fully committed to Him? Are God’s priorities my priorities? Do I have a heart eager to be used by Him, for His glory, and to let my life be a light by which this dark world can’t help but notice? We must be vigilant in keeping an Eternal perspective, and not let ourselves get wearied by this world’s woes, nor let the weakness of our flesh tempt us toward failing and falling away from God. On our own we are all failures and frauds – but WITH Christ? We can do ALL things through His power at work in us. The key is staying fully committed and obedient to Christ, putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and fleeing the temptations of this world.

God has certain jobs for us to do, and He is more than able to set aside anyone else’s denial of the gifts and abilities that He has assigned each of us for His own purposes and pleasure, and to work His good where it looks “impossible.” In fact, I believe He enjoys showing evidence of His inescapable omnipotence and sovereignty in the face of seemingly impenetrable obstacles on behalf of those who love Him.

So even in the greatest of trials let us not be tempted to diminish His love for us, or His sovereignty over all situations, but instead let’s pray that He helps us fully surrender to His desire to use all that He allows in our lives as vehicles to display His power, grace, sufficiency and love.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27

The next time we are tempted to feel discouraged from a lack of impact or use of a spiritual gift that God has afforded us, let’s remember just Who is in control.

And keep in mind: the best posture from which to watch God move mountains is on our knees, as we ask Him to.

He is waiting for us to come to the realization that He delights in our trust of Him! So let’s hasten to deepen our trust in the fertile ground of His faithfulness, so that He can display His work in our lives all the more as we step out in obedience. Let’s begin praying for marvelous things in the Only Mighty Name – that of Jesus- then stand back! And watch the hand of our loving Lord carry out what only He can! 🙌🏼🌿

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Who’s in Charge Around Here??

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While all the craziness of our home life was going on with our involvement with Safe Families and the busyness of life, things were happening at Mark’s workplace.  He really loved his job, but he had already climbed within the department as high as he could.  The business culture today is so wrapped around a different philosophy than my parents’ generation.  Now, if you stay in one role for more than a few years, it can be looked upon as stagnation rather than perfecting your craft.  So, Mark posted for other positions in the company that would keep us in California, but nothing seemed to work out. He was told that if he gained some further outside experience in management, he could come back in to some different challenges down the road.

When we discussed it with the kids, again, they weren’t exactly delighted with the idea of leaving California, and they had a point: they’d heard us say God would provide friends in California and we had asked that they trust Him; they had, and now they each had some good friends.

But we really saw this move as a temporary one; we were so sure we would be back within 2-3 years – we were already sold on the area, we had had a wonderful life there, so we wouldn’t struggle at all with coming back, would we?

When we had lived in Wisconsin, we’d been part of a wonderful church plant of a Harvest Bible Chapel in the Milwaukee area, the parent church being in Elgin, Illinois. Mark and I used to drive down on Saturday nights to what was affectionately referred to as “Big church” – the main campus.  Captivated by all that God was doing there we’d dreamed of the chance to be part of it. But we had never pictured ourselves moving to Illinois –why would we ever do that when all we’d known was in the Badger state?

All the same, here we were, considering that very thing.

Before leaving our home in California to go on a weeklong visit to Wisconsin, I had called the school, Harvest Christian Academy, letting them know we were going to be in the area the next week and would there be a way our kids could see the school even though it was summertime?  The superintendent was very friendly and helpful, “Absolutely!”

So we took a day and drove down to the area that we were considering moving to.  We wanted our kids to see where they would go to school – and church, since they were the same building. 

Little did we know that while we were looking at them, they were looking at us – we had no idea that the school was working hard to grow – it all looked and sounded wonderful to us and the idea that our children would get to be part of this marvelous school was exciting to us, as we already held their ministry in such high esteem.  Meanwhile, God was encouraging their hearts that here was a family with 5 kids, eager to join in what they were doing.

We flew back to California, more open to the idea of another move.

Again, we talked extensively with our children; we all agreed that ‘coming back’ would be our top priority – this was just going to be like an extended vacation for a couple years, then we’d be right back to the state we had come to love.

Really, we felt we didn’t have a choice so we put our wonderful home on the market, and started the enormous task of moving across the country again.

Back in the Midwest, we moved to a hotel in a northwest suburb of Chicago; this temporary stay ended up lasting about four months, but this time around, we had two dogs plus a cat and the seven of us crammed into two rooms. 

Thankfully, our lodgings were at the very end of the hallway, directly across from each other. Mark and the boys and I took one room with a dog, and the three girls took the other dog and the cat in with them.  

We still chuckle at the memory of the sign that greeted us on the refrigerator when we first entered: “Welcome! We hope you find this fully furnished kitchen stocked with all the necessary tools to make your stay with us an enjoyable one!” 

Opening the cupboards and drawers revealed the contents of two plates, a bowl and a mishmash of silverware, along with a small pot with a lid, a jar opener, a corkscrew and a sieve. The girls’ room wasn’t much better, although they had an ice cream scoop and a stack of cups. Clearly, we had some gaps to fill; between the two rooms, we cobbled together a reasonably equipped kitchen and, with one or two trips to the Dollar Store, we made it functional. 

It didn’t take long for the enormity of our decision to sink in: We had left the home and area we loved, to come back to the Midwest to live in a hotel again, no more ultra bright sunshine, no more sandy beaches… only this time it was August, we were back to freezing cold weather and gray skies – and there was no going back! There were unforeseen challenges that really tried our faith; things had we known, we may have chosen very differently. It wasn’t easy starting all over again, and we started to doubt the soundness of our decision. Everyone was floundering, lonely and struggling.

“Um…Mission Control? We have a problem!”

Nearly horrified with the evidence that obviously we had not been thinking clearly the past several months to cause us to make such a rash and unutterably wrong and irreversible decision, we turned desperately to God – What had we done?? Lord, please fix this!

Then, the soothe, calming voice broke through to my frantic mind: 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29.

Has there been a time in your life when you found yourself far from where you ever intended to be? When things just didn’t look anything like your original plans? God wants to assure us that even then, He is in control. It may look different, it may be full of some trials or hard situations, but He wants to help us grow through those very difficulties, to make us more like his Son. Let’s talk…you know – between friends.

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Waiting on God’s Timing…Always an Adventure!

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God presented more chances for us to rely on His timing, as we had to wait for our house to sell. This meant that the kids and I stayed behind in Wisconsin for 8 months, while Mark lived out in California, searching the area, learning the job and coming home to see us every other weekend.

There were still days during this stretch that were difficult and lonely, especially for Mark. He was the pioneer, exploring on his own, missing his family and all that was familiar; at least the rest of us were in a holding pattern in our own comfortable home and familiar routine. Not to say that we were just sitting around taking it easy; no, I was saddled with the enormous (read: impossible) task of keeping our home presentable for an entire 8 months.

Selling a house with five young children who don’t stop living just because there’s a sign in the front yard inviting strangers to enter at a moment’s notice was challenging, let me tell you! I learned in a hurry some pretty creative ways to hide clutter as realtors would call giving me a 5 minute notice and were walking up our sidewalk; and struggled through numerous times we spent hours cleaning the entire house only to have a scheduled showing cancel at the last minute. There were times I wondered if God was paying attention to all the hard things we were going through – this was supposed to be an adventure, wasn’t it? Well then, where was the fun??

More than one conversation was filled with doubt and “did we make the right choice?” kinds of questions. Again and again, we reminded each other that God never promised that ‘easy’ would be part of the equation of walking in trust and faith.

My faith deepened through that valley; God showed Himself faithful again and again, and I knew He hadn’t left us…we just needed to wait on His timing. Philippians 4:19: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus” Well how deep is that supply?? Endless! I just needed to be patient and wait trustingly.

Finally, right at the end of that school year, our house sold – it was perfect timing really; the kids were able to finish school and a week later, the movers came. We were going to be able to spend the entire summer searching for a new house, hopefully getting settled before school started fresh for the kids again in the fall ~ Thank you Lord!

Mark flew home to help wrap up details, and, eagerly, we made our Good-byes to our loved ones with tears and trepidation and embraced the new adventure that lay before us.

Are there times you feel like God’s timing is all off? Sometimes it helps when we take a look back over our shoulder to see His faithfulness to us in the past…to build our faith stronger for the unknown future we are facing. Can you remember a time of God’s faithfulness in your life? Let’s talk…you know – between friends.

 

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